Survivors and victims of domestic abuse could be at risk of further harm because of missed technology opportunities.

The lack of a comprehensive national database recording current civil protective orders (Non Molestation Orders NMO’s) means that the responsibility is on the victim to prove to authorities including the police that such an order exists..

If they are intimidated and do not present the NMO, police will not know if a perpetrator has an order issued against them and could miss vital signs in identifying and helping victims of domestic abuse.

The flawed system could put tens of thousands of victims at risk. However one company is leading the battle to protect and safeguard victims of domestic violence and be proactive.

Nick Dale, Vice President Business Transformation for the UK Justice Sector in CGI, explains how CGI is working with UK policing, leading think tanks, charities and Police and Crime Commissioners to help change the process and make things easier for police and local authorities to join up and identify potential victims and provide refuge for victims. Such a change would play a part in rectifying what is perceived as a system which is already weighted against victims who have already suffered real distress.

He says: "Domestic abuse victims will have around 35 occurrences on average before reporting the abuse and taking action. When they do seek support they can choose a civil non molestation order as opposed to pressing charges. The issue being that as they are not criminal offences they are not always recorded centrally or in a digital format that is accessible by those safeguarding.

“It is not stored centrally on a readily accessible database and cannot be seen across forces. If the victim is, for example, on holiday in another jurisdication that police force is not necessarily going to know about the non-molestation order."

Nick explains: "The non-molestation order in its basic form is a piece of paper and some people may not want to carry that around as a reminder of what has happened.

If a victim is fortunate, the existence of a civil protective order alone will be enough to deter the perpetrator from causing further harassment. Unfortunately this is often not the case and victims are reliant on a robust response from the police and criminal justice system when an order is breached. Our research conducted with Crest, a leading think tank across criminal justice, revealed real concern that breaches of civil protective orders are not dealt with consistently or robustly enough by the criminal justice system.

“Not only is the lack of a digital record frustrating for victims, it potentially puts them at unnecessary risk of harm. A victim who has been sufficiently harmed, threatened or intimidated to be in need of a NMO is clearly at risk and fearful for their safety. The fact that the police are not aware of the existence of an NMO means that that victim may not be on their radar. Not only does this stop them from doing any preventative work with that victim, it also means that in the case of a 999 call the officers attending will be unaware of the full circumstances of the victim. This hampers both the risk assessment and the officers’ ability to respond in the most appropriate way.”

CGI suggests including non-molestation orders on the Police National Database, which could provide a simple robust way of safeguarding.

An enhancement would take around six months to implement, says Nick, and would be a vital tool in reducing risk, improving safeguarding across the UK.

CGI has plenty of experience in modern solutions to problems in the UK. It has worked across the criminal justice system and in partnership with UK police for many years, helping deliver IT infrastructure services and digital transformation projects.

However, its success comes from a local angle. Despite its global reach Nick is keen to stress that when the organisation signs a deal to help a local police force or local authority it always sets up a physical presence in that area.

“It is about building communities,” Nick says, “Our aim is to prevent crime happening in the first place and to do that we need to be physically close to the area we are working in.

In the North West CGI's ambitions are even bigger. It wants to help local authorities protect local people and it wants the help of locals to do it.

When asked about finding suitable candidates to fill the highly technical roles within CGI, Nick was adamant the talent pool in Liverpool and beyond is big enough to grow the company.

He says: “It is about giving confidence to communities. We will be able to offer apprenticeship schemes to local people and invite school children to come in and see what we do.

“We want to empower communities and create jobs. It is something we are really proud of.”

From domestic violence to cyber crime, CGI is at the front line of technology helping to protect vulnerable members of society.

Its solutions could change the way we prevent crime - and help protect vulnerable people in the North West.